As said before, the design of the Cyber-shot DSC-F828 is unique. Thanks to this design the camera lies in one's hand in a very stable way. The user is more or less forced to support the large lens by the left hand so the right hand operates the camera. The angle from the bright lens can be adjusted with regards to the other part of the camera, by turning the lens up until a maximum of 70 degrees and down to a maximum of 30 degrees. This enlarges the freedom of taking pictures from difficult angles and awkward corners tremendously. The front of the camera is dominated by the lens. The bright lens, f2.0 in wide angle and f2.8 in telephoto, is large compared with competing brands, but it fits seamlessly into the design of this camera. The lens is equipped with a so-called zoom ring. The focal range can be set manually very precisely from 28mm until 200mm (7x optical zoom). The range of 28mm and the brightness of f2.0 are valuable features. Behind the zoom ring a smaller focus ring is placed to enable manual focussing.

On the right side of the lens a number of buttons are placed, amongst them the flash button to make the internal flash on top of the lens pop out. Directly behind the internal flash a hot shoe is placed to enable installing an optional external flash unit. As a matter of course the amount of light is enlarged when using an external flash which makes more creativity possible when photographing and it is more effective. On the rise of the lens, in the housing of the internal flash, on both sides of the Sony logo the part for the unique Hologram Auto focus is place. The subject is enlightened with laser light when this function is activated in order to enable the camera to focus easily. Underneath the lens we find a (metal) universal connection for the tripod nearly reaching the centre of the camera. When the camera is placed on the tripod it is still possible to change the battery or the Memory Stick without having to remove the camera from the tripod.

The second part of the camera, the control centre in fact, is equipped with all thinkable settings that a demanding photographer requires. The large hand grip offers stability and feels comfortable. Inside the hand grip we find the battery compartment, a heavy capacity InfoLithium battery supplies the camera with the necessary energy. In the same compartment we find the memory slot for the well known Memory Stick (PRO) memory card. The cap is of solid quality and covers the whole perfectly. On top of the hand grip, next to the release button we find a few quick review buttons and a large Command Dial to get immediate access to diverse main programmes. The on/off switch is embedded in the Command Dial. Next to the Command Dial we find a small display with additional information such as the amount of images that still can be made.

The back of the camera of course features an LCD display. In this case it's a display with a high resolution and one that works perfectly in all light circumstances. Next to the display an electronic viewfinder is placed. To use either one of them, just change the switch which you will find underneath the LCD display. The electronic viewfinder is equipped with a dioptre setting so glasses wearing or contact lenses using users can eventually use the viewfinder without their glasses or lenses. During the introduction last year, beside the surprisingly high resolution, there was a second surprise. On the right side of the display, we found a small switch, called: Open (CF). Activating this switch opens up a cover to make place for a second memory slot! The DSC-F828 is the first Sony camera to support beside the Memory Stick (PRO) also a CompactFlash or eventually a Microdrive for storage, an unprecedented scoop for Sony connoisseurs!

One of the innovations the DSC-F828 is equipped with is a newly developed RGB+E sensor. This sensor uses four different colours; compared with the standard RGB sensor it has added one colour. An additional advantage of applying this new technique is that the range of the colour pallet is enhanced which offers more detail and colour saturation. The images turn out rich and with high colour saturation. The technique was promising and it kept that promise!

The camera lies perfectly in ones hand and the buttons are placed ergonomically. In general we are satisfied with the spot, but it has to be said that some logical buttons or functions are not directly accessible; Sony has placed them inside the menu. These small defects are forgiven very fast if we look at the possibilities that Sony offers us with this camera.